The gold prices used in this table and chart are supplied by FastMarkets. Where the gold price is presented in currencies other than the US dollar, it is converted into the local currency unit using the foreign exchange rate at the time (or as close to as possible).

Mid price: USD/Oz

The gold prices used in this table and chart are supplied by FastMarkets. Where the gold price is presented in currencies other than the US dollar, it is converted into the local currency unit using the foreign exchange rate at the time (or as close to as possible).

Pagination

Gold demand totalled 929t in the third quarter, which proved to be a generally subdued quarter for the gold market. Jewellery demand softened by 4% year-on-year, but the comparison continues to be heavily influenced by the events in 2013.

Gold demand of 964t in the second quarter was, unsurprisingly, lower when compared with the exceptional upsurge in demand in Q2 2013. Jewellery demand weakened year-on-year, but the broad, 5-year uptrend remains intact.

The sixth edition of Gold Investor discusses gold’s role as a liquid alternative to stocks, bonds and cash, and highlights its ability to improve portfolio risk-adjusted returns for investors – even if they hold other alternative assets.
The latest edition (Volume 6, June 2014) includes three articles:
I. How gold improves alternative asset performance
II. Gold: metal by design, currency by nature
III. The most liquid of all ‘liquid alts’

After an exceptional 2013, gold demand made a robust start to 2014 - virtually unchanged year-on-year at 1,074.5 tonnes. Jewellery demand gained moderately, largely due to the environment of lower gold prices compared with Q1 2013 and seasonal factors in many markets. Divergence was seen within the investment space: net ETFs flows were zero, compared with 177t of outflows in Q1 2013, while bar and coin investment unsurprisingly fell far below the record Q1 levels of demand seen a year ago. Central banks continued to purchase gold for its diversification and risk management properties.

In this fifth edition of Gold Investor we analyse gold’s effectiveness as a risk mitigating strategy, particularly relevant in today’s interconnected global economy.
It includes three articles: I. Hedging EM risks? Think gold; II. Can gold replace bonds in balancing equity risk?; III. A perspective on gold as a hedge in an expanding financial system.

Gold demand of 3,756.1 tonnes in 2013 was worth US$170.4bn. Consumers generated exceptional levels of demand, with jewellery at its highest since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008 and investment in small bars and coins hitting a record high. This was in contrast to large-scale outflows from ETFs, due to a number tactical western investors liquidating their positions as US economic sentiment improved. Central banks made healthy purchases of 368.6 tonnes, the fourth consecutive year of positive demand. The net result was a 15% decline in overall gold demand from 2012.

A central bank that wishes to buy gold can do so locally, by purchasing domestically-mined or recycled gold. Alternatively, gold bars can be bought directly from a bullion bank in the global over-the-counter, or OTC, market.